“I’m so broken-hearted, I can’t believe it. He was the most beautiful, lovely, outgoing, loving boy. He was just a really lovely person.
“His friend was stabbed in the back and hands trying to protect him. My son always tried to stand up for people, so maybe the attacker was bullying someone.”
Sullivan said his son had been a keen film-maker, working on music videos for British drill and rap musicians under the name Sully Shot It.
He had gone to the famous viewing spot to use a new camera he’d bought for his 21st birthday.
“It’s Primrose Hill, for god’s sake … it’s like Hyde Park. It’s not somewhere you expect this,” he said.
“This is the worst tragedy I could ever imagine. He’s my only son … I had him when I was 45. He can never be replaced.”
Footage of the attack has quickly spread on social media and shows the brawl escalating as a man wields a knife in front of onlookers, many of whom had gathered in the popular park to enjoy the United Kingdom’s warmest day of the year so far.
One witness told the Daily Mail that several groups of people in their late teens had been involved in the fight.
“The park was just so busy, I had gone with my mate after work and it was literally the busiest I have ever seen it because of the weather and it being Easter holidays.”
“Then suddenly we heard this commotion from behind us, and a big brawl kicked off – people were throwing punches, people were screaming at others to stop.”
Police are continuing to investigate the incident and have asked anyone with information, including photos and videos, to come forward.
It follows a spate of fatal violence in the major city over the last few days.
A man in his twenties was stabbed to death outside a Peckham nightclub on Monday, and another died in a double attack in Shadwell on Tuesday.